Printing position control device for an offset printing machine



1963 TAMAKI KANEKO ETAL 3,

PRINTING POSITION CONTROL DEVICE FOR AN OFFSET PRINTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 16, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS Em/1m KANEKO BY KAuNoBu fimnoro J Dec. 3, 1968 TAMAKI KANEKO ETAL PRINTING POSITION CONTROL DEVICE FOR AN OFFSET PRINTING MACHINE F led Jan. 16 1967 I I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS 714mm KANEKO KAzuNosu Ymmo'ro United States Patent 7 Claims. of. 101-248 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Device for an offset printing machine, which enables an operator to rotate the impression cylinder to ad ust the position of the clamping fingers on said cylmder in relation to the sheet feeding mechanism and blanket cylinder and thus adjust the longitudinal position of the printing on the sheet.

Cross reference to related application Japanese application for Patent 2,933/66, filed Ian. 19, 1966, discloses the invention described herein and the right of priority of that application is hereby clalme'd.

Background of the invention (1) Assuming that sheets of paper to be printed upon move longitudinally as fed to the impression cylinder from the stack of sheets, then the present invention has to do with a device for longitudinally adjusting the positlon of the printed matter on the sheet. The device is such that it adjusts the rotational position of the impression cyl nder with its sheet clamps in relation to the blanket cylinder and sheet feeding device and this may be done while the printing press is in operation.

(2) Applicant is not familiar with any prior art like the invention herein.

SUMMARY It is desirable in an offset printing machine to adjust the position of the printed matter on the sheet. Transverse position may be adjusted by means of the sheet feed mechanism and location of the stack of sheets. The present invention is directed to means for adjusting the longitudinal positioning of the printed matter. The device may be operated while the press is in operation or when it is not in operation. The adjustment is obtained by manual rotation of the impression cylinder with its sheet clamps thereon in relation to the blanket cylinder and sheet feeding mechanism.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a side view of a rotary offset printing machine illustrating one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan View showing the main part of the embodiment, with other parts omitted.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on dotted line III--III of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on dotted line IV--IV of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a developed view illustrating meshing relations of gears respectively provided on a plate cylinder, a blanket cylinder and an impression cylinder.

FIG. 6 is a developed sectional view of FIG. 4, showing gears only.

Description of the preferred embodiment When performing printing operations on an offset printing machine, adjustment of printing positions in a transverse direction is done by a paper feeding mechanism and stack pile location of copy sheets. Adjustment in a longitudinal direction is performed by suitably varying the rotational location of the impression cylinder. This invention relates to a printing positioning device which controls print positions in a longitudinal direction of the copy sheets and which is characterized in that it is so designed as to perform such adjustment while a printing machine is in operation.

Objects and details will be readily understood in the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Referring now to FIG. 1, 1 represents a side wall of a printing machine according to this invention. 2 is a plate cylinder, 3 is a blanket cylinder and 4 shows an impression cylinder. 5 indicates a horizontally movable paper feeding rack. 6 illustrates copy sheets piled on said paper feeding rack 5. 7 is a movable member provided on a paper feeding device, whereby the copy sheets are delivered one sheet at a time to the impression cylinder 4. 8 represents a guide member provided between said paper feeding stack 5 and said impression cylinder 4. 9 represents a plurality of conventional clamping fingers provided on a part of the circumference of the impression cylinder 4 in an axial direction of the latter, whereby the leading edge of a copy sheet is clamped when it is fed to the cylinder by the aforesaid movable member 7. 10 is a receiving tray for copy sheets printed during passage between the blanket cylinder 3 and the impression cylinder 4.

One end face of the above mentioned blanket cylinder is provided, as shown in FIG. 2, with three gears 11, 12 and 13, of which, gears 12 and 13 have an identical radius while the gear 11 has a smaller radius than the aforesaid two gears. The gear 12 is fixedly secured on and substantially integral with the blanket cylinder 3 by a flanged wheel 15 as shown in FIG. 4, which is fixed, by screws 14, on an end face of the same cylinder. The gear 11 is loosely mounted between the end face of the blanket cylinder 3 and the aforesaid fixedly secured gear 12, while the gear 13 is loosely mounted between the aforesaid flanged wheel 15 and the fixedly secured gear 12.

On one end portion 16a of the cylinder shaft 16 there is provided a rotatable fan shaped gear 17 carrying an arm as shown in FIG. 3, said fan shaped gear 17 being meshed, as shown in FIG. 2, with a worm 19 fixed on an operating shaft 18. The operating shaft 18 is loosely fitted in a sleeve 22 rotatably supported by bearings 20 and 21, said bearings being fixed on the inner side of the side wall 1. Respective left ends of said operating shaft 18 and the sleeve 22 are equipped with operation knobs 23 and 24, while the right extremity of said sleeve 22 is screwed onto the aforesaid bearing 21. The knob 23 is provided to rotate said worm 19, while rotation of the other knob 24 spirally advances said sleeve 22 to the right as seen in FIG. 2, securing thereby the aforesaid worm 19.

Referring now to FIG. 3, at an extremity of an arm 17a of the aforesaid fan shaped gear 17 is provided double planet gear on a shaft 27, said planet gear consisting of a gear 25 meshing with the aforesaid gear 11 and of a gear 26 meshing with the fixed gear 12, as shown in FIG. 4.

Rota'tably mounted on an axle 30 at a suitable place on the inn-er surface of the side wall is a double planet gear consisting of a gear 28 meshing with the aforesaid gear 11, and of a gear 29 meshing with a gear 13. The aforesaid fixed gear 12 is further in meshing relations with a gear 31 fixed on the end surface of the plate cylinder 2 (FIG. 5), while the gear 13 is mesh-ed with a gear 32 fixed on the end surface of the impression cylinder 4.

Assuming the cylinders are respectively in stationary positions, turning the operation knob 23 in either direction rotates the fanshaped gear 17 by means of the worm 19, which, in turn, causes the gear 26 of the double planet gear provided on said fan-shaped gear 17 to revolve around the fixed gear 12, whereupon the gear 11 meshing with the gear 25 which is integral with the aforsaid gear 26 is rotated relative to the aforesaid fixed gear 12 by an angle corresponding to the diametrical difference between the gears 25 and 26. Rotative movement of said gear 11 is imparted, through gears 28 and 29 secured on the side wall 1, to the idle gear 13 of the blanket cylinder. Subsequently, the impression cylinder 4 is rotated, through its gear 32 fixed thereon meshing with the aforesaid gear 13, relative to the blanket cylinder 3, causing the rotative directions of the blanket cylinder 3 and the impression cylinder 4 to vary relative to each other. Variation of such relative positions of the blanket cylinder and the impression cylinder means that the position of the copy sheet clamp fingers 9 provided on the impression cylinder 4 is changed relative to the blanket cylinder, causing the position of a printing form rolled on the plate cylinder 2 cooperating with the blanket cylinder 3 to be varied in a longitudinal direction relative to the copy sheet held by the aforesaid clamp fingers 9, whereby the printing position of the printing form relative to the copy sheet is adjusted. The printing position control as hereinabove described presupposes the blanket cylinder in a stationary position, but it will be evident to those skilled in the art that said control can also be effected when respective cylinders are in rotation. In fact, the effect of this invention becomes more evident in the case of the latter.

The invention claimed is:

1. A printing position control device in an offset printing press having a plate cylinder, a blanket cylinder, and an impression cylinder, characterized in that it comprises three gears axially mounted on the end wall of said blanket cylinder, one of said gears being fixed to said blanket cylinder and two of them being axially rotatable in relation to said cylinder, a double planet gear having gears of unequal diameter manually movable about the axis of said blanket cylinder and meshed with said fixed gear and one of said rotatable gears, a second double planet gear with gears of unequal diameter mounted on a fixed axle and meshed with said two rotatable gears, and a fixed axially arranged gear on the end of said impression cylinder in mesh with one of said rotatable gears.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first mentioned fixed gear is meshed with a fixed gear on the end of said plate cylinder.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first mentioned fixed gear and one of said rotatable gears are of the same diameter.

4. A device as set forth in claim 1, wheerin said first mentioned double planet gear is meshed with said gear which is fixed to said blanket cylinder and with one of said rotatable gears axially mounted on the end Wall of said blanket cylinder, said rotatable gear being of lesser diameter than the other rotatable gear on said end Wall.

5. A printing position control device in an offset printing press having a plate cylinder, a blanket cylinder, and an impression cylinder, characterized in that it comprises three gears axially mounted on the end wall of said blanket cylinder, one of said gears being fixed to aid blanket cylinder, both of the other gears being of different diam eters one to the other and being adapted to rotate around the axis of said blanket cylinder, a double planet gear manually movable about the axis of said blanket cylinder and meshed with said fixed gear and one of said rotatable gears, another double planet gear mounted on a fixed axle and meshed with both of said rotatable gears, and one of said rota-table gears meshed with a fixed axial gear on the end of said impression cylinder.

6. A printing position control device in an offset printing press having a plate cylinder, a blanket cylinder, and an impression cylinder, characterized in that it comprises two gears of the same radius and one gear of smaller radius axially arranged on the end surface of the blanket cylinder, one of said two gears being fixed and the other of the two gears and the gear of smaller radius being rotatable in relation to said blanket cylinder, a double planet gear meshing with said fixed gear and the gear of smaller radius and arranged in such a manner that the axis of said double planet gear may revolve around an axis of the above mentioned blanket cylinder, another double planet gear mounted on a fixed member of the printing press, said second double planet gear being adapted to mesh with both the aforesaid rotatable gears, the aforesaid fixed gear being adapted to mesh with a fixed axial gear on the end of the plate cylinder while the aforesaid rotatable gear of greater radius being engageable with fixed axial gear on the impression cylinder.

7. A printing position control device in an offset printing press having a plate cylinder, a blanket cylinder, and an impression cylinder, characterized in that it comprises two gears of the same radius and one gear of smaller radius axially arranged on the end surface of the blanket cylinder, one of said two gears being fixed and one rotatable in relation to said blanket cylinder, a double planet gear meshing with said fixed gear and the gear of smaller radius and arranged in such a manner that the axis of said double planet gear may revolve around the axis of the blanket cylinder, another double planet gear mounted on a fixed member of the printing press, said second planet gear adapted to mesh with the aforesaid gear of smaller radius and the rotatable gear having the same radius as that of the aforesaid fixed gear, and the aforesaid fixed gear being adapted to mesh with a fixed gear on the end of the plate cylinder while the aforesaid rotatable gear of larger radius is adapted to engage with a fixed gear on the end of the impression cylinder.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,700,903 2/1955 Bohme 10l248 X 2,708,405 5/1955 Gegenheirner 101234 3,218,969 11/1965 Nagel 10l248 X ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

F. A. WINANS, Assistant Examiner. 

